On our first-ever house-hunting excursion, we walked into a little ranch with chalk paint on the cabinets in the kitchen. If it had been anywhere near our price range, I would have bought it on the spot just for that feature.
In an instant, I was imagining how we’d use that chalk wall. I’d draw murals, fill in a fancy menu, and write all sorts of encouraging notes with the artistic ability that chalk wall would magically impart.
Fortunately, my husband has sense.
We accepted God’s gracious gift of another home with many, many good qualities. As it turns out, chalk paint can easily be added to the kitchen later.
Also…chalk paint doesn’t make you an artist.
My murals are so rough I forget what they were supposed to be. It takes me long enough to write legibly on a wall that I gave updating the menu.
If something is written on our chalk wall, it will be there for a good long while. So, it’s mostly covered in Bible verses. What else holds its own through the seasons?
Before the turn of the year, my husband added 2 Timothy 1:6-7 to the collection. Do you know it by heart, too?
“This is why I remind you to fan into flames the spiritual gift God gave you when I laid my hands on you. For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.”
That struck a chord. We’re in a season of seeking to fan into flames the gifts God has given us and the gifts others see in us. But it’s scary and risky. I’ve been so convicted about how many of my decisions and attitudes, big and small, are born out of fearfulness masquerading as something more palatable, like “responsibility” or “kindness.”
Shortly after I started praying for God to use 2020 to teach me about the Spirit He has given us- not of fear– I learned about Kristin Wetherell’s new book: Fight Your Fears.
A few years ago, Wetherell co-wrote Hope When It Hurts, which I treasure still. I had high hopes for this new book, Fight Your Fears, and I am not at all disappointed.
There are many wonderful books about facing fear out there, especially for Christians. Most of the ones I’ve read share experiences, tips, and practical “how-to” information about dealing with fears. Some also look at how devastating fear can be and why it’s good to face it.
Fight Your Fears takes a different approach. This unique book looks at the “big picture” of fear, then holds common kinds of fear in light of that greater perspective.
Wetherell begins by addressing what it means to fear God. That’s not a topic I typically find encouraging, but, oh my word, was it. From there, each chapter addresses a different type of fear according to what is true of God. Some “types of fears” include fear of man, fear of failure, and fear God won’t provide.
These quotes give a taste of the encouraging conviction found in Fight Your Fears:
- When we no longer fear God as we ought, the result is that we fear lesser things too much.
- Doubt allows fear to grow in its unruly power, but faith chooses to overwhelm it with truth.
- Fear comes when we envision tomorrow’s circumstances apart from tomorrow’s grace.
- We’re so often concerned about what people think of us, when we should be concerned about what Jesus knows of us.
- God knows our whole story and loves and accepts us in His Son even when man doesn’t, and that fact comforts us.
- Trust in God doesn’t necessarily mean our fears vanish but that we know where to go with them.
Reading Fight Your Fears revitalized and enriched my perspective of the refuge we run to in Christ and of the Spirit He has given us. I highly recommend this one!
Do you have any verses on your walls? Has God graced you with any books recently that coincide with ways you’re already praying to grow in Him?
You can grab a copy of Fight Your Fears from several places. Learn more about this excellent book and where it’s available here.
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